And we are the bad guy?
"They call it The Force, you know, like it's supposed to be
used for
domination and hurting people. They use light sabres - real
peaceful badge
of office, those. I remember one whose idea of an appropriate
response in
a bar-room brawl was to cut the guy's arm right off without even a
warning
or anything. And they call themselves the good guys?" - Dani,
mystic.
We only have the Rebel's word for it that they're the good guys
and the
Empire are the bad guys. Even the least cynical can see that they
might just
have a vested interest in portraying themselves as heroic underdogs,
fighting for freedom and apple pie. There are, however, enough
publications
for us to examine the evidence for ourselves. In order to maintain
the
necessary objectivity, the self-styled "Rebel Alliance" will be
referred to
as "the Terrorists".
Recruitment
The Terrorists would have us believe that all their operatives
are
pure-hearted idealists operating from the highest of motives. One
example
frequently cited in Luke Skywalker. Records of his recruitment [1],
however,
show that he joined after being misled. The war criminal Kenobi told
him
that Lord Vader had killed his (Luke's) father despite knowing [2]
that
Vader was, in fact, Luke's father. Kenobi and his partner Yoda later
regretted the fact that Luke had found out the truth [3]. Malicious
breaking
of family ties hardly seems to accord with terrorist propaganda
about their
motives.
Other Terrorist recruits are less savoury, however. Numerous
publications
record the desire of the terrorists to recruit other criminals, be
they
mercenaries such as gorgeous pouting Kyle [4], pirates [5], renegade
Imperial officers who make it clear that they wish to defect solely
for
financial considerations [6], or smugglers [7].
The fraudulent trader Solo is only one of the latter, but
perhaps the
best known. Lest it be thought that pirates are all jolly yo-ho-ho
types and
smugglers are enterprising lads evading unjust tarrifs (the
terrorists would
love to have you believe that. Ask anyone who's been mugged if the
muggers
are loveable. Ask anyone who works with Crack addicts if smuggling
is fun),
the career of Solo is known in some detail.
It is common knowledge that Solo was up to his cute smile in
debt to a
particularly sadistic crimelord [1]. What is less well known is why.
This
information was revealed in a recent document [8]. He had in fact
been
smuggling a drug used as a particularly revolting truth drug
manufactured in
a particularly revolting manner. Let's get this straight. He was
smuggling a
cargo which he knew would be used for torture by a noted sadist, and
was
forced to dump it when challenged by Customs. This is one of the
"heroes" of
the terrorists. I believe the term "hero" is better used for the
customs
officers who, at the cost of their own lives, forced Solo to abandon
the
cargo so that it could do no further harm.
Later, after he had been completely corrupted by the
terrorists,
Skywalker attempted to recruit this same sadistic criminal (Jabba)
[3].
We note from the recruitment package [5] that of the 24 types
of beings
specifically targetted by Terrorist recruitment, fully one half are
criminals (Pirates), traitors (Retired Imperial Captains) or the
deluded who
don't know what they are letting themselves in for (Ewoks).
Compare this with the Imperial attitude. The Empire recruit
beings who
will become efficient professionals dedicated to Service and Duty.
The
distaste of Imperial officers towards bounty hunters [2] is very
much more
high-minded than the attitude of the terrorists.
Receiving stolen goods
The terrorists' casual approach to common lawbreaking is seen
elsewhere
in the career of Skywalker. Having bought two droids which he had
every
reason to suspect were stolen [1], he later found out that this was
in fact
the case. Did he attempt to return the droids to their proper owner
or his
next of kin? No, and his ownership of those droids was unquestioned
amongst
the terrorists. Sounds like receipt of stolen property to me.
Egalitarian
The terrorists make much of their egalitarian approach. They
claim that
the Empire is run by and for white human males with English accents.
Are
they serious? Does anyone actually believe a galaxy-wide
civilization could
be usurped by such a small group? In any case, they are wrong.
Vice-Admiral
[6], later Grand Admiral [7] Thrawn reached the highest ranks of the
Imperial navy, despite being a non-human.
But are the terrorists so squeaky-clean in that respect? Oh,
they have
members from all sorts of species, as is to be expected. But where
are the
non-humans in the upper echelons? Actually, I can tell you the
answer to
that. They are in command of the warships. The large capital ships
of the
terrorists are controlled by their builders - Mon Cal - because of
design
features which only Mon Cal can understand [9] (if the Imperials
used that
excuse, it would be called speciesism!)
The Mon Cal allow other species to help with the menial tasks
aboard
ship, while retaining control themselves. The Mon Cal claim that
these
massive ships, comparable in size and power to Imperial Star
Destroyers,
were originally built for peaceful exploration [9,10,11]. Yeah, sure
pals.
Earth history shows us that Athens dominated the Greek federation by
having
control of the ships. It seems the Mon Cal are doing the same with
the
terrorists.
If further proof that the terrorists are fundamentally
prejudiced on the
grounds of species were needed, consider the following. Why didn't
the
Wookie get a medal [1]?
While I'm on the subject of egalitarianism, what sort of a
Republic is it
that has hereditary monarchy [1]?
War criminals
The terrorists complain that the Imperial forces are brutal and
ruthless.
However, the truth is that the terrorists started it, and they are
simply
complaining about the Empire's natural and understandable heavy
response to
terror tactics. The Declaration of Rebellion states [9,10,11] "We
will fight
you with any and all means at our disposal". Now, to declare total
war, and
then complain when the Empire responds by taking them at their word
seems a
little hypocritical.
On Earth, conventions of war, up to and including the Geneva
Convention
have attempted to prevent hostile powers from engaging in this sort
of
destructive warfare. In particular, the distinction between
combatants and
non-combatants is vital for the protection of civilians. The
terrorists have
not merely done away with this distinction, they very often hide
their bases
amidst civilian centres of population [4]. They are appalled when
the
Imperial forces destroy this base, with attendent civilian
casualties.
It should be noted, however, that the Imperial forces did not
bombard the
base from space, but sent in specialist troops. They kept civilian
casualties to a minimum. I seem to remember the reaction of the West
to
someone who attempted to use a "human shield". In the conflict which
followed, the Western world did bombard civilian areas, supposedly
to
destroy military targets. By this token, the Empire is morally
somewhat
superior to the Western world, while the Terrorists are comparable
to Saddam
Hussein.
Meanwhile, the Imperial forces site their bases well clear of
innocent
civilians, without detriment to those civilians. For instance, on
Endor [3]
the Imperial base coexisted with, but apart from, the natives. If
the
Imperials were really ruthless and evil, they would have levelled
the forest
in the vicinity of their base, and eliminated the semi-sentient
Ewoks. They
didn't. They lived in peaceful coexistence until the terrorists -
once again
blurring the line between combatants and non-combatants - persuaded
the
Ewoks to take part in an unprovoked attack.
Jedi terror
It is said that the Empire rules by terror, but what is less well
known
is that it is simply trying to re-establish the law and order which
existed
previously. The Old Republic's terror weapon was the Jedi [9], a
self-chosen, self-perpetuating, unaccountable body. The mere mention
of
their name was sufficient to quell rebellion [8,9]. (The terrorists
would
have you believe that it was a Golden Age when no one wanted to
rebel, but
the latter source makes it clear that this is a lie. People were
simply too
terrified to rebel.)
In what way is that different from the Death Star? Is it not
misguided to
oppose the one while trying to reinstate the other? The only reason
to do
that is because one intends to be in charge in the "new old
republic".
A fairly lengthy quote from the now corrupt Jedi Skywalker
makes the
Terrorist position clear:
"Now we have a New Republic. The Empire appears to be
defeated. We have
founded a new government based upon the old" (complete with the
corruption
that led to Palpatine's rise to power?) "but let us hope we learn
from our
mistakes. Before, an entire order of Jedi watched over the Republic,
offering strength ... and (supporting) the rightful government of
worlds."
(Whether the people liked it or not). Skywalker continues; "what
will happen
when we begin squabbling among ourselves over petty matters? The old
Jedi
helped mediate many types of dispute." (Whether the people liked it
or not).
"What if there are no Jedi Knights to protect us in the difficult
times
ahead?" [8]. In short, what is being offered is simple despotism by
the Jedi
(and who is the only surviving Jedi master?); there seems to be no
consideration that just maybe people who have risked death in the
name of
freedom could rule themselves. However, such is not the agenda of
the
Terrorist leadership. They simply want power for themselves.
The terrorist Mothma is supposedly both Commander-in-Chief
and Chief of
State, but only until the death of the emperor [11]. Yet, years
after his
death, there she is, still in charge [7,8,12,13]. So much for
democracy and
"checks and balances". Dictator for life seems to be a more
appropriate
title.
Bloody-handed psychos
The terrorists are united only in their opposition to the Empire
[11].
Some of the elements in the terrorist organisation are "incompetant
or
corrupt", and some are "morally dubious" [11]. So, even in their own
propaganda, the terrorists admit that they employ bloody-handed
psychopaths.
And their response to discovering this?
"if a Sector Force is not trusted, the Alliance does not
commit any
starfighters, men or secret intelligence to it. When the Sector
Force
eventually falls apart, as it inevitably does, Alliance Command then
steps
in and rebuilds it from scratch. These draconian measures can be
cruelly
hard upon the ... innocent ... in the Sector."
Elsewhere in this reference, it is admitted that Sector
Forces have been
known to be incompetant or riddled with spies or just plain weak. It
is left
unstated that they might be corrupt. I'm reminded that the
psychopath
"Bloody Bill" Anderson held a colonelcy in the Confederate army
during the
American Civil War, and used this as an opportunity to murder
civilians and
unarmed soldiers on furlough.
Seduction of the innocent
As a paradigm of the corruption of innocence which the terrorists
will
undertake in their pursuit of power, the career of Skywalker is
instructive,
especially as he became one of the terrorist leaders. Oh, the young
Skywalker was no angel, he was prepared to purchase droids which he
suspected to be stolen, but he was recruited by falsehoods (and
incestuous
desire: another crime against the family perpetrated by Kenobi [1]).
Before long, he was being schooled in hard-heartedness. His
friends were
being tortured for his sake, but his instructor attempted to
persuade him to
leave them to suffer [2]. Before long, he was happy to see his own
sister
held prisoner by the sadistic Jabba [3]. Not to mention his droids,
one of
which definitely had not volunteered. And his use of his mental
powers? Is
deliberately using one's mental powers to inflict harm upon another
sentient
the stuff of the Dark Side or not? The rules [5] say yes. And what
did
Skywalker do to a guard who was only following orders to prevent his
ingress
without proper authorisation [3]? Why, he hurt him, using his mental
powers.
Vader was a ruthless disciplinarian. He executed officers
under him who
had disobeyed orders in the face of the enemy - allowable under the
rules of
war. Skywalker hurt others simply, it seems, to show off. Which is
worse?
Origins of the rebellion
The Terrorist organisation grew out of the breakdown of the Old
Republic
[5,9,10,11,14]. To summarise, corruption among the Senators was
rife.
Palpatine was elected President, simply because he was free from
corruption.
He then began to quietly restore law and order, and it was noticed
that:
"In the midst of chaos, the previously underrated senator
began the
wheels of government turning" [14].
He then promised to turn his attention to "eradicate the
corruption and
social injustice" of the bloated, corrupt senators. It was at this
point
that Mon Mothma openly, and Bail Organa secretly [11] began
supporting armed
revolt to destroy the Emperor. It was not the actions taken against
pirates,
or crime bosses, or the necessary expansion of the military that
caused
these Senators into armed revolt. It was Palpatine's promise to
clamp down
on Senatorial Corruption.
One is forced to ask why. Bail Organa "funneled funds, arms
and
intelligence" to many resistance movements while he was still a
Senator on
"many" Appropriation and Military Committees [11]. Let's get this
straight;
he was responsible for sending military aid to forces that were in
direct
military conflict with the organisation that he was sworn to uphold.
In
short, he was the worst kind of traitor, sending troops to die in
order to
line his pockets.
Alderaan
The single most important piece of propaganda of the Terrorists
is the
destruction of Alderaan. It has been portrayed as a planet of
pacifists who
had done no-one any harm [1]. One might justly argue that the
destruction of
Alderaan was the act of one individual (Grand Moff Tarkin) for
reasons that
can only be guessed at.
However, the Terrorists, in their praise of Bail Organa, say
that "he
worked diligently to prepare his people (Alderaan) for the coming
struggle,
convincing them to renounce ... pacifism ... turning the planet ...
into a
centre for Rebellion." [11].
The Terrorists thus admit that Alderaan was a legitimate
military target.
Alderaan, according to Terrorist propaganda was both a planet of
harmless
pacifists and a centre of armed rebellion. They can't have it both
ways.
Imperial actions
Terrorist propaganda has only shown the actions of the Empire
military
against their own organisation. However, the recently produced
reference
about the life in the Imperial forces [6] shows a rather more
balanced view
of Imperial actions - fighting pirates, establishing a colony in the
frontier, bringing peace to a system-wide civil war, and so on. It
is also
noted elsewhere [14] that the Imperial military has taken actions
against
pirates, among others.
Evil galactic empire, or simply trying to uphold law and
order against
ruthless terrorists determined to wreak havoc on innocents while
lining
their own pockets? You decide.
References
Star Wars. Film.
The Empire Strikes Back. Film.
Return of the Jedi. Film.
Dark Forces. Computer game.
Star Wars the RPG. First edition.
Tie Fighter. Computer game.
Heir to the Empire. Novel.
Jedi Search. Novel.
Star Wars Technical Manual. Book.
Star Wars Sourcebook. Game supplement.
Rebel Alliance Sourcebook. Game Supplement.
Dark Force Rising. Novel.
The Last Command. Novel.
Imperial Sourcebook. Game supplement.
